Strongest Businessman of the Cultivation World

“Do you know who the kids that fought in the arena were?”

“No, why do you ask?”

“A servant from the Li family just asked me about them.”

Two city guards were chatting while patrolling the periphery of the city. Their conversation fell on the ears of Feng Yan, who was squatting in the square where temporary Farmhands gathered.

Alarm bells rang in his mind. As the supposed guardian of the Kids, he was privy to what happened between Li Fan and Ikasa. He spat out the blade of grass he was chewing on and walked away from the scene.

‘Damn Ikasa! This bastard can’t stay lowkey at all.’

He cursed as he evaded the city guards near the gates of the inner city.

He quickly made his way to Ikasa’s residence.

Soon, he was standing before his destination.

As he stood before the large doors, he had a thought.

“If Xin Ruo or the Kids find out about the Search operation being conducted by Li Fan, they would worry needlessly.”

He decided to not knock on the door and started looking for alternate entrances.

Then he saw the lamp burning in Ikasa’s room through his open window. He tiptoed his way to the window and jumped inside.

Startled by the sudden intruder, Ikasa attacked him without even verifying his identity.

His very first attack was a horizontal chop aimed at Feng Yan’s neck. Feng Yan narrowly avoided it.

The next vertical chop was swifter than the previous one and it almost hit Feng Yan’s shoulder. Shocked by the power behind those chops, cold sweat rolled down from his forehead.

He removed the scarf covering his face and identified himself.

“Wait, it’s me!”

Ikasa stopped in his tracks and he blurted.

“Why are you here?”

Then he hastily closed the window and whispered with urgency,

“And why the hell did you sneak into my room?”

Feng Yan was still stupefied by the sudden strength Ikasa had displayed. If not for his Sense Realm cultivation base, he would’ve been unconscious on the floor.

“How the fcuk did you get so strong?” Feng Yan counter-questioned.

Ikasa merely twitched his lips, not intending to answer his question at all.

Feng Yan’s thought of various explanations but none of them fit.

Before his thoughts could drift, he remembered the actual reason he was here.

In a frosty voice, he asked Ikasa, “What did you do?”

“What do you mean by that?” Ikasa asked, puzzled by Feng Yan’s sudden anger.

“You know what I mean. Yesterday I visited Li Family’s cultivation store. That fool, Li Fan, was giddy with joy as he put the coins in his purse. And this morning, suddenly Li Family servants are all over the city, investigating the background of the Kids!”

Ikasa turned pale on hearing the news. What he feared was coming to pass. Feng Yan noticed the change in his expression. But it did not quell his fury.

“That inert idiot will not take an action without reason. So tell me, what did you do to provoke him?”

Ikasa took a deep breath. Feng Yan might’ve known the kids longer, but they were his responsibility now. If Li Fan came again, Ikasa had the confidence to silence him.

The problem was the Li Family behind Li Fan. To deal with them, he would need Feng Yan’s help. Hence he decided to come clean.

“I made a deal with Xue Mi.”

“What? You… You…”

Feng Yan’s eyes widened with shock. He sputtered for words and turned away to avoid tearing Ikasa a new one. He couldn’t understand why he would try to balance on two stones.

“Dealing with Xue Family while cooperating with Li Fan is no different than playing with fire.”

Feng Yan hissed with restrained rage. He took a few deep breaths and decided to give him a chance to explain.

After calming himself, he looked into his eyes.

“So, Why?”

Ikasa walked to his bed and sat on the edge. He folded his hands before his chest as he answered.

“They promised me something I couldn’t refuse.”

Feng Yan still stared at him, without a speck of emotion in his eyes. His eyes expected Ikasa to elaborate.

Ikasa complied. This was a golden chance to firmly tie Feng Yan to his wagon.

“They offered a chance to start over in Birch City. A chance for you, all your brothers, and their families.”

Feng Yan expected the Xue family to coerce Ikasa with their power or lure him with money, prestige, or woman. Heck, he even suspected that Ikasa had agreed because the Xue family had promised to engage Xue Mi with him.

In the 14 million possibilities he imagined, not even once did he think Ikasa would sacrifice his lucrative business for him and his brothers.

‘For eighteen years, we have lived a life worse than that of dogs. And we will finally get an opportunity to end this suffering.’

His eyes misted at the mere thought of it. All his anger disappeared into thin air.

Ikasa did not expect such a huge reaction from Feng Yan. He knew Feng Yan always wanted to find a way out of Sal City. As the intercity transport was controlled by the Big three families, it was impossible for him to bring nearly forty families of his brothers away.

‘Since Xue Mi has promised me, I can surely bring a strong bodyguard like Feng Yan when I start anew in Birch City. His brothers can even become a part of my private force.’

His thoughts wandered while he gave Feng Yan time to compose himself. Once Feng Yan had gathered his wits, he realized the offer was too good to be true.

“Okay, speak. What kind of deal did the Xue Family force down your throat?”

“They wanted exclusive rights to sell my Battle Techniques in Sal City.”

Ikasa replied nonchalantly.

“That’s it?” Feng Yan asked doubtfully. Ikasa’s indifference had made him underestimate the significance of their demand.

Ikasa grinned at his ignorance.

“Old Man, that is a business worth hundreds of thousand Gold coins. Do you understand how big of a sum that is?”

Stunned by the number, his mouth gaped open. He couldn’t even process how large the amount was.

“Hundreds of thousand gold coins? Are you sure you are talking about gold and not copper coins?”

He asked, wanting to confirm he had not heard wrong.

Ikasa tapped his chin with a mischievous smile on his lips. He took a few seconds to let Feng Yan settle down.

“Nope! It is in Gold coins. The business would be worth millions in terms of Copper coins.”

“Mil… Millions?!”

Feng Yan plopped down on the bed. He who had never seen a Thousand gold till he met Ikasa, was suddenly heard of trade worth Hundreds of thousand gold.

And Ikasa had given up on this business just so he and his brothers could start over in a new city.

“Ikasa, don’t give up on such a large business for us. Give me a thousand gold; No, Ten thousand gold, and I will come out to protect you. Let’s see who dares to touch you!”

Ikasa couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Speechless! He was left speechless by the shamelessness of this old man. Then he exploded.

“You damned old coot! Do you think you are a Chakra Opening realm expert who can deter everyone? Or are you the Governor of this Deciduous County?”

Ikasa seethed with fury. He had thousands of expletives to hurl at this old man. But he calmed himself.

Feng Yan snapped out of his daydream after a slap of reality. Still, he was unwilling to let Ikasa make this sacrifice for himself.

“But why give up?”

Feng Yan asked with dejection in his voice. He was disheartened by his own incompetence as well as the cruelty of the nobles.

Ikasa understood his reluctance. He consoled his Father-in-Law candidate.

“Don’t forget, the greatest asset of this business is me. If the Xue family can create a business worth a million silver using my manuals in Sal city, we can do the same in Birch city.”

Light returned to Feng Yan’s eyes. He put aside his guilt and looked forward to the future. To have a secure and prosperous future, first, they needed to deal with the threat before them.

“So, what are your plans? How do you plan to deal with the Li Family?”

“Not Li Family, Li Fan. The Last time he only saw the teaser. This time we will show him the entire movie.”

Ikasa smirked as he thought of the pitiful face of Li Fan, begging for mercy.

“What teaser? What Movie? Speak clearly, so that I can understand.”

Feng Yan barked, destroying the atmosphere Ikasa worked hard to create. Ikasa put a hand on Feng Yan’s shoulder. Feng Yan glowered at him for his transgression. But Ikasa did not relent.

He looked into Feng Yan’s eyes and said, “This time, we will put the fear of the name Red Eye in his heart.”

He removed his hand and turned to look out at the beautiful waxing moon.

“We will leave an indelible impression in his mind. He should be so scared that if he sees the kids, he will give them a wide berth.”